Walking Down Elysian Fields
by Sixty Five Roses
Summary: Sharon listened to him, hypnotized by the sound of his voice and the enchanting backdrop. Her lips curved in a content smile as the sudden realization of how happy she was struck her.


**A/N : Earlier this week, I returned from Paris, after representing my university at a Model UN competition there. My visit, even though I've been there twice before, opened my eyes to how beautiful and romantic this city is, and inspired this story. I hope that you enjoy it!**

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 _Champs-Élyséés (French), Elysian Fields/Elysium (English)_  
 _Meaning : "Heaven on Earth" according to Greek mythology_.

Andy was full of surprises, Sharon thought to herself when he handed her a white envelope as she opened her birthday presents. She opened it slowly, not sure what she expected to find inside. When she pulled the two tickets out, she was sure they were tickets to a Dodgers game, but when she examined them more closely, she noticed they were flight tickets. Her heart began pounding when she saw the destination.

"Andy, you got us tickets to Paris?" the excitement in her voice was more than evident.

"You always talk about how much you've always wanted to visit there," Andy shrugged as if two tickets to Paris were just a small gift. And so, a couple of weeks after her birthday, Sharon found herself on a plane to Europe for the first time in her 60 years. To say she was excited was the understatement of the year. She and Jack planned to visit Paris together once they both complete their studies and before they have children, but her life took a different course and she never had the chance to leave the continent before.

The excitement that crawled under her skin and resided there since the moment she received the tickets and until the moment they landed at the Charles De Gaulle Airport made her skin tingle. Her eyes consumed the sights with a thirst she's never felt before, and a giddiness settled in her head as she faced the incredible architecture that Paris had to offer. There were moments that she felt in a daze, as if she was sleep-walking through a wonderful dream, especially as she walked down the Champs-Élyséés and got closer to the infamous Arc De Triumphe.

"Oh my God, Andy," she held his hand tightly. "It's even more amazing than I imagined." A tear escaped her eyes and started rolling down her face. A visit to the Louvre earned Andy a similar reaction, although Sharon later admitted that she was slightly disappointed by the Mona Lisa, as it was much smaller and less impressive than she visualized.

It was the afternoon two days before the end of their trip that they visited the Eiffel Tower. Sharon shuddered a little as the elevator ascended to the second floor of the tower. She always had a slight fear of heights and thanks to Andy's arms wrapping around her, she relaxed a little. He always knew how to calm her down when she was anxious. The view of the city from the tower made Sharon's breath hitch and she pushed herself against Andy's body, enjoying the warmth of his embrace and the smell of his cologne. Turning to him, she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

That evening, they had dinner on the balcony of the hotel suite that had a great view of the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower. Sharon watched the tower lights sparkling in the dark, casting a magical glow over the city and the river. Sharon watched Andy as he spoke about the first time he visited Paris and a funny incident he had with a street performer. Sharon listened to him, hypnotized by the sound of his voice and the enchanting backdrop. Her lips curved in a content smile as the sudden realization of how happy she was struck her. This was such a perfect moment, being there with a man who put her dreams ahead of his, and did whatever he could just to make her happy; a man who wanted nothing more from her than her company and her love. Andy's fork fell to the floor and drew her out of her reverie. She moved forward, in order to help him pick it up.

"Don't get up. I already found it," he said and Sharon leaned back and waited for Andy to retrieve his fork. Finally, he crawled out from under the table and straightened his dress shirt as he kneeled in front of her. She noticed he was holding something sparkly in his hand and assumed it was the fork. "I know you absolutely hate kitsch, but I hope you'll forgive me just this once," he smiled and Sharon could see the way his eyes shone with excitement as he pulled a dark purple velvet box out of his pocket. "Sharon O'Dwyer Raydor, will you marry me?" He opened the box and exposed a simple but tasteful diamond ring. Sharon's hand immediately came to cover her mouth, to hide her quivering bottom lip.

"Tell me you didn't orchestrate this entire trip to Paris just so you can propose to me," the words escaped from her mouth before she managed to filter herself.

"I guess that's a no, then?" She could see the mix of disappointment and hope mixed in Andy's eyes.

"Yes, Andy!" Sharon replied with a smile and the expression on Andy's face made her realize what she just said. "I mean, no!" That didn't sound right either. "I mean, of course I'll marry you, Andy!" She exclaimed. It took Andy a moment to realize it, but when he did, his eyes lighted up and a wide smiled spread across his face. Removing the ring from the box, he slid it down her finger, and leaned in to capture her lips.

"Are you happy?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"Very, are you?" she asked and cupped his cheek.

"More than you can ever imagine," he said and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you, Andy," her voice was only slightly above a whisper.

"For what?" he asked and her eyes filled up with tears.

"For wanting to spend the rest of your life with me," she replied and tears started rolling down her face.

"Are you kidding? I should be thanking you for that, Sharon. There is absolutely nothing in this world that excites me more than that. I've been thinking about this moment ever since you caught the bouquet at Provenza's wedding."

"You know it landed in my lap by mistake," Sharon replied.

"I don't think there was any mistake about it. It was just meant to be this way," Andy said and Sharon shrugged with a soft smile.

"I love you," she said and her lips brushed against his as she spoke.

"I love you too," he replied and captured her lips in a languid kiss. "You know," he said against her lips. "We should probably document this moment for the kids."

"And for us," Sharon grinned. "Do you have that ridiculous selfie stick you bought?" Andy nodded and went inside the suite to bring the stick. He took a moment to set up his iPhone on the stick and then turned to Sharon.

"You're ready?" he asked, and Sharon inched closer to him and brought her hand in front of her body, to present the ring. As Andy placed his thumb on the selfie stick button, Sharon turned her head and captured his lips. She smiled at him sheepishly after he took the photo. "You're going to kill Rusty if you send him this photo," he said when they inspected the picture they took.

"He's seen worse things, I'm sure," She smirked and pointed at his iPhone screen. "Look, you captured us, and the Eiffel tower and we're kind of adorable here, don't you think?"

"I'd say more than 'kind of'," Andy smiled as Sharon took the phone from him and texted their children the photo with the caption 'She said YES!' in bold. She knew it would probably take a few hours until they see it, because of the time difference between Paris and LA, so she put the phone aside.

"I think I'm ready for dessert," she said, with a mischievous smile.

"I didn't order dessert, but we can always call room service and…" Sharon's lips swallowed the rest of his sentence.

"You're my dessert," she spoke against his mouth before reclaiming it and leading him into the suite. She was quite sure neither of them will ever forget this night, but just in case, she decided to make it even more unforgettable. She was going to take Andy for a walk down an Elysian Field, and that, by no means, was the Champs- Élyséés.

THE END

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 **As always, I'd love to know what you thought of this story, so feel free to leave a review or send me a PM.**


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